The existence of the vast array of inventions in the fields of diving suits and diving bells bears witness to the fascination and interest people have had in the diving arts. In the early days of diving history, divers were encapsulated in airtight rigid metal suits similar to a knight in armor. The diving suit was similar to a diving bell, but provided some articulation at the joints. The interior of the suit was maintained dry and fresh air was pumped from the surface through hoses.
Thanks principally to the work of Jacques Cousteau, and others following his lead, the SCUBA, or self-contained underwater breathing apparatus was developed to the point where it has replaced rigid shell devices such as armor-type suits and bathyspheres except in very deep waters. Although providing the diver with a great deal of flexibility, a disadvantage inherent in the use of the modern wetsuit and scuba equipment is the vulnerability of the diver to ocean predators, primarily sharks.
It is a known fact that sharks will generally test their potential prey prior to biting down to determine how hard the surface of the potential next meal is. If the shark's teeth strike a hard surface, particularly a hard metal surface, the shark will ordinarily back off. Although suits of armor and license plates have been found in the stomachs of sharks, the creature actually prefers meals that are softer and easier to chew.
To avoid accommodating the shark's mealtime proclivities, while at the same time preserving the skindiver's body flexibility, mesh suits have been provided such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,806 issued in 1966. However, mesh suits of this type, especially when the mesh is imbedded inside a layer of rubber foam material, although possibly providing some resistance to actual penetration of the suit with the teeth of smaller sharks, nevertheless is incapable of providing any serious resistance from attack, at least when used in gauges adequately fine to provide any reasonable degree of flexibility at all to the diver. Shark teeth penetrate through imbedded mesh.